@LucreLout - Re: Can you guess what I'm going to say Tim...?
> All the while the workers will be doing their damndest to ensure they get paid the absolute maximum for their effort in building the boat.
Except that, as has already been pointed out, unless there's a situation of almost full employment which forces employers to offer better wages, they can say "This is what we're paying, take it or leave it. If you don't take it, someone else will".
> I tend to find those that are the loudest critics of capitalism understand the least about how the game is played.
Really? Perhaps I should point out that I've been running my own business for over 20 years and got an A-Level in Economics many years ago...
But the fundamental point that *you* are discounting is that it *takes* money to make money. The first rule of the game is that you need a stake to get into the game.
What is stopping those workers setting up their own company? Answer: A big lump of capital to afford to buy premises, a boat yard, raw materials, pay labour, etc etc etc. And if you say "they can get a bank loan" I'll ask "who are the banks likely to loan to? The workers who have little in reserve or someone who's already got a few million in the bank?"
The fundamental issue with capitalism, socialism, communism or anything else is that they run into the problem known as "Human Nature" and unless you make sure that the game a) has rules and b) people are made to play *by* the rules, you will always end up with a situation of increasing inequality.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
